The Ballad of El Chillon

This is a song I wrote when I was taking a Chicano Literature class with Benjamin Alire Saenz. It's supposed to be sung as a Spanish waltz (3/4 time.) It speaks of La Llorona.

I heard it from my comadre
Who heard it from her tia Menchu (Carmen)
Of Pepitos youngest daughter
The tragedy that she went through

When her gringo husband left her
For one of his social status
She cried him a big ol’ river
We thought she would die of sadness
She went un pocito loca
Her children she drowned in madness

By that river she created
She wails all noche y dia
For her children to return
Que hisiste mamita mia
And as if it weren’t enough
You killed yourself todavia

When the gringo heard what happened
Le remordio la conciencia
But realized he was tarde
Quiso truncar su exsistencia

But Cupido, too, felt guilty
And beat gringo to his game
For meddling and joining couples
Cupido has found his fame
And fearing his mother, Venus
He tried to defend his name

As gringo cried by the river
Cupid turned him into a tree
To guard and protect his children
And keep mom from running free
So now he’s a Weeping Willow
All tragedies come in three’s